Three more Muslims arrested in connection with Boston bombing case

At least two of the men are from the Muslim country of Kazakhstan. The three people arrested were connected to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, the surviving bomb suspect, at the university and allegedly helped him after the bombing.

Boston.com The two men, Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev, came to America from the Central Asian Muslim nation to study at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, where Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was also enrolled. The law enforcement official did not release the name of the third person arrested.

Tazhayakov (left), the 19-year-old Kadyrbayev (middle), and Marathon bomber Tsarnaev together in Times Square: (checking out potential bombing spots?)

The Boston police Web page said that three additional “suspects” had been taken into custody. It emphasized that there was no threat to public safety. Harlan J. Protass, a criminal lawyer from New York who is representing Tazhayakov, confirmed today that Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev were taken into custody.

“I can confirm that Azamat and Dias were two of the three individuals that the Boston police tweeted about,” he said, adding, “They are going to be charged criminally.” He said he did not know what the charges were but cautioned against jumping to conclusions. (You mean like concluding they are Muslims?)

Kadyrbayev’s car license plate reads ‘TERRORISTA # 1′:

Close-up of plate

But investigators have continued to eye other people who knew the brothers to see if they provided them with any help before or after the attacks. Shortly after the brothers were identified, investigators questioned three college friends of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in New Bedford, two of whom were Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov.

Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov appeared before a federal immigration judge this morning on charges they overstayed their student visas. Their lawyers said they were unaware of any criminal charges against them. Lawyers for the men said at the hearing the men had cooperated with Homeland Security and FBI investigators for hours and were only college buddies with Dzhohkar Tsarnaev and should be released.

The men are being detained in the Suffolk County jail and appeared before immigration Judge Steven F. Day via videoconference, wearing prison scrubs, from the jail. The consul of Kazakhstan, other representatives, as well as US government officials were in the court.

The agency has also questioned Mikhail “Misha” Allakhverdov, the mysterious Muslim friend that the bombing suspects’ relatives blamed for helping to radicalize Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Allakhverdov has denied he had anything to do with the bombing and has said he has not seen Tamerlan Tsarnaev in years.

Photo found on the VK page of Dias Kadyrbayev shows Kadyrbayev, left, with Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev